Chapter 178
Chapter 178. The Outsiders
The Yan Clan Head welcomed the guests from the Central Plains warmly and led the way.
“Our Yan Clan’s hot spring is located at the far eastern end, so it’ll take a bit of time. Let me tell you about the island along the way so you don’t get bored.”
All throughout their walk, the Yan Clan Head explained the island’s structure.
The plains outside the palace were divided into three zones—each managed by one of the North Sea’s three clans: the Yan Clan, the Dong Clan, and the Han Clan.
Though the lands outside the palace weren’t vast enough for the clans to be called “Three Great Noble Clans,” nor rich in food or resources, the city of the North Sea remained prosperous and peaceful.
Most of its people wore thick, clean clothes; some were even dressed in garments embroidered with fine patterns.
The buildings were all made of solid stone, and they had tapped into geothermal heat to operate public hot springs. It could not have been an easy feat—yet, with limited manpower and materials, they managed to live in such luxury.
Tang So-hwa walked facing forward, but her eyes quietly observed everything in sight.
“Here we are.”
At the Yan Clan Head’s voice, Tang So-hwa lifted her gaze.
Before them stood a red pavilion set against a backdrop of black cliffs.
As soon as she stepped inside, Tang So-hwa involuntarily flinched.
The Yan Clan’s household servants were lined up along the corridor.
Pointing at them, the Yan Clan Head addressed Peng Sihyeon, the Four Directions Hall Lord.
“Please, choose the attendant who will serve you during your stay.”
Peng Sihyeon looked at him silently.
Tang So-hwa understood that gaze. None of the servants appeared ordinary—they were finely dressed, and most of them were men.
Even Tang So-hwa understood what the phrase “the attendant who will serve you” implied. There was no way Peng Sihyeon didn’t.
But perhaps misinterpreting her expression, the Yan Clan Head cleared his throat.
“If none are to your liking, I’ll bring others.”
He turned toward the rest of the group and grinned lewdly.
“The remaining attendants, you may choose among yourselves later. Don’t be too envious—wait your turn.”
At that, Peng Sihyeon’s voice turned cold.
“Must I take only one?”
“Ah, not at all! Take as many as you wish, Hall Lord.”
Peng Sihyeon gestured lightly, selecting her attendants.
She chose ten—all young women.
“Ah…”
The Yan Clan Head laughed awkwardly, flustered, then scolded his servants.
“What are you waiting for! Escort the Hall Lord at once. And for the rest…”
“I’m fine.”
The Black Tortoise Pavilion Leader interrupted him.
“But still—”
“There’s no need for attendants tonight. Though I appreciate the Clan Head’s kindness, we’ve traveled far and are weary. We’d prefer to rest.”
The Pavilion Leader declined politely but firmly.
The Yan Clan Head scratched his head, as if unsure what to make of it, and gestured.
“You all, show the guests to their rooms.”
The servants quickly moved, each guiding a member of the Four Directions Hall’s group.
The Yan Clan Head frowned when he noticed Namgung Jin and Tang So-hwa still standing at the back.
“And for you two…”
No attendants remained.
“Follow me. I’ll show you to your rooms myself. We’ll hold a dinner banquet in half an hour, so I’ll send attendants to serve you then.”
Tang So-hwa was relieved—at least she would know where Namgung Jin’s room was located.
As they followed the Clan Head down the corridor, their vision grew hazy—the outdoors were blanketed in mist. It was all steam.
Hot spring water cascaded like a waterfall, forming a lake beside a red-painted stone building.
That seemed to be their lodging.
As they approached the pavilion, Tang So-hwa’s brows furrowed suddenly.
A burst of floral scent hit her nose.
In a deep tone, she asked,
“Clan Head, is there a peony nearby?”
“Peony? Haha, of course not. As you can see, it’s hardly a place for flowers to grow. But if you need some, I can have them fetched for you.”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
She thought perhaps she’d imagined it—but the fragrance in the steam was thick and blatant.
Tang So-hwa’s face turned cold. She could feel the scent of peony moving.
The Clan Head stopped in front of the pavilion.
“The fifth floor there—that’s where you’ll be staying. Those two rooms are the largest, so you can take those.”
He pointed roughly to the windows from outside before leaving.
As Namgung Jin climbed the pavilion stairs, he stopped before his door.
“I’d like to speak with you for a moment.”
Tang So-hwa’s icy expression finally eased as she met his gaze. Holding her door firmly, she shook her head.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll visit your room later. It might take a little while, so please rest and recover from your travels.”
“Then, let’s meet in half an hour. Since there’s to be a banquet, I’ll wash and change in the meantime.”
Tang So-hwa nodded and opened her door.
Click.
After closing it behind her, she walked straight to the window. Pulling back the curtain, she could see the massive hot spring and the city below.
Standing still, she removed her outer robe and placed it on the table. Immediately, someone picked it up and hung it on a wall hook.
"The North Sea hot springs are humid. You shouldn't leave clothes on the ground. You have to hang them up so they don't get ruined."
Tang So-hwa turned toward the voice.
Haerak sat in a chair as if it were his own room, his large frame ill-fitting for the small seat—one leg slung over the other awkwardly, his posture insolent.
Even a trivial remark sounded sarcastic coming from him.
“So, among the Namgung brothers, the Young Lord is the one you picked? Calling you to his room sounded so natural.”
Playing with the earring hidden beneath his long hair, Haerak chuckled.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“…”
“At least say something. You’ve got no expression—when you stay quiet, I can’t tell what you’re thinking.”
Tang So-hwa sat across from him and answered calmly.
“Nothing much.”
“What kind of ‘nothing much’?”
“I thought you were injured… I’m glad you’re fine.”
She quietly adjusted the legs of the small chair until it sat level—because of that, she didn’t see the expression on the Blood Sect member’s face.
When she finally looked up again, Haerak was frowning.
Tang So-hwa had never quite understood the emotional shifts of the Main Blood Hall Lord, so she paid little attention to his strange reaction. Haerak exhaled and relaxed his expression without offering an explanation.
His sudden appearance wasn’t all that surprising.
She had been worried he might do something reckless by showing up in the North Sea, but since she already knew he wasn’t exactly sane, Tang So-hwa simply accepted the situation with calm resignation.
Taking the opportunity, she asked,
“The North Sea nobles must know that the Four Directions Hall Lord is a woman, and rather strict in temperament. The fact that they guided us here—to a pleasure house of all places—must mean this island lacks a proper setting for diplomatic hospitality.”
A massive bathhouse large enough to hold a hundred people, with numerous chambers attached—No matter how one looked at it, this was no wholesome place.
And since the Yan Clan Head had openly told them to choose attendants to serve them at night, pretending otherwise would have been foolish.
Haerak chuckled.
“The Ice Palace is a closed world. They rarely have to entertain outsiders.”
Tang So-hwa didn’t buy it.
“I’ve never heard of a city built around an open hot spring. That alone means advanced engineering—complex work that would’ve required manpower and resources. Yet you say they’ve never had dealings with outsiders? Strange. For such a project, they’d have needed to bring in both materials and workers. There must have been large-scale trade.”
Running her fingers along the red-painted window frame, she continued,
“If they had the kind of engineers capable of designing and constructing an entire city, anyone would’ve tried to keep them. No one would have let such talent leave their domain easily. For a project of this scale, it must have taken decades—so I doubt they simply asked permission to take those people away.”
Her black eyes settled on the man seated before her.
“Unless it belonged to the Will of the Blood Demon.”
“…”
“Are the North Sea nobles also Outer Region people once ruled by the Blood Demon?”
Haerak propped his chin on his hand with a satisfied smile.
“I like it when you suddenly say things like that.”
The teasing tone didn’t please her, but Tang So-hwa’s curiosity outweighed her irritation.
“I’ve heard the North Sea nobles were originally outsiders. That they married into the Ice Palace and were accepted as nobles here.”
“That’s right.”
“Was the construction of this city done during that period? If they built something like this, no wonder the Ice Palace Lord accepted them as kin.”
Haerak’s lips curved slightly, and he nodded.
“The clan that led the construction was the Han Clan, the one that sits at the center. The same people who pretended to be the Branch Leader today and welcomed the Four Directions Hall on behalf of the North Sea Branch.”
At those words, Tang So-hwa turned to the window. Beyond the hot spring, she could see the mountain—the one called the North Sea Ice Palace.
Watching the silvery, snow-covered peaks descending into dusk, she asked,
“Did the Han Clan build the Blood Demon’s passage?”
“Rather than build the passage, they created the passage entrance. At that time, the Blood Demon was even more obsessed with sorcerers than he is now, so he wouldn’t have left a valuable one in a place like this. They say he kept them constantly by his side, utterly fixated on them — I didn’t want to know the details, so I never asked. Anyway, once the island stabilized, the Blood Demon personally brought a sorcerer and had him inscribe dark arts at the entrance to the passage.”
The massacre of the North Sea Ice Palace had also been one of the Blood Demon’s meticulously planned acts. Tang So-hwa let out a heavy sigh and asked,
“Then what value did the Yan and Dong Clans have to earn the Blood Demon’s trust?”
“Ah, those two clans were born with something the world prizes most.”
When she looked at him, Haerak smiled lazily.
“Luck.”
“…”
“Utterly useless people who somehow faced the Blood Demon and survived to enjoy power—that’s what I’d call divine luck.”
Tang So-hwa didn’t believe him.
The Blood Demon would never spare anyone without purpose.
“He isn’t merciful, and neither you nor the Red Blood Hall are the patient kind who tolerate eyesores. How, then, did the Yan and Dong Clans manage to maintain equal standing with the Han Clan?”
“They’re not equals.”
“Then why let them live?”
“The Han Clan asked the Blood Demon to spare them.”
“The Han Clan did?”
“They needed manpower to sustain the island, I suppose. And let’s be honest—doesn’t the Blood Demon, that old geezer, a little scary? Keeping a few fools around makes you look more valuable by comparison. If you’re doomed anyway, you’d rather be third in line to die than first.”
“…”
“So, when the Blood Demon issues an order to the North Sea, the Han Clan avoids the dangerous tasks, and the Yan and Dong Clans fight each other over who gets to take them instead. To survive under him, they have to keep proving they’re useful.”
Haerak clicked his tongue.
“Every one of these people is out of their mind.”
His golden eyes turned toward her.
Tang So-hwa met his gaze and asked quietly,
“Then why are you here?”
Haerak’s lips curved into a bright smile.
“To make sure you don’t die.”
“You still don’t trust me? I’m not your enemy. There’s no need to keep watch over me.”
“You don’t believe me even when I say it plainly. I’m here because I’m worried you’ll die.”
“I don’t die that easily. You know that.”
“I’ve seen plenty of people boast that they’ll never die—then die right after. So don’t gamble your life so carelessly.”
The laughter faded from his golden eyes as they met hers squarely.
“When you die… you won’t be the only one who does.”